1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to caps (or lids) placed on beverage cups and, more particularly, to caps that are especially adapted for cooling a portion of the contents of the beverage cup.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that beverages in beverage cups are often too hot to drink safely, without burning one's lips or tongue. To overcome this problem, throughout the years, a number of innovations have been developed relating to lids or caps for beverage cups, whereby the lids or caps provide for cooling a portion of the hot beverage prior to being drunk by the user; and the following U.S. patents are representative of some of those innovations: 3,806,023, 4,619,372, and 6,176,390.
More specifically, each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,806,023 4,619,372, and 6,176,390 discloses a respective lid for a hot liquid drinking cup in which a portion of each respective lid provides a cavity for holding a quantity of hot liquid. Each respective cavity has an open top. As a result, liquid can readily spill out from the respective top if the drinking cup is bumped into. In this respect, it would be desirable if a drinking cup lid, that provides for cooling a portion of the liquid from the cup, were provided with a closed top that prevents spilling of liquid from the lid.
In addition, the following U.S. patents may be of interest for their disclosure of devices for cooling the contents of a beverage cup by cooling the beverage that resides in the beverage cup itself: 4,531,383 and 5,799,501.
Still other features would be desirable in a beverage cooling container cap apparatus. For example, it would be desirable if a cap or lid for a beverage cup could be operated by a user in such a manner that by simply tilting the beverage cup in one direction, the cooling cap or lid fills with hot liquid, and by simply tilting the beverage cup in another direction, the cooled liquid can be readily drunk from the cap or lid by the user.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use a cap or lid for a beverage cup that provides for cooling of a portion of hot liquid from the beverage cup, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a beverage cooling container cap apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) provides for cooling a portion of the liquid from the cup and has a closed top that prevents spilling of liquid from the cap; and (2) can be, operated by a user in such a manner that by simply tilting the beverage cup in one direction, the cooling cap or lid fills with hot liquid, and by simply tilting the beverage cup in another direction, the cooled liquid can be readily drunk from the cap or lid by the user. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique beverage cooling container cap apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.